How Exercise Can Help You Save on Healthcare Costs

What if we told you exercise can help you save money? It's true — exercise can actually lower your medical bills.A study conducted by the American Heart Association found that exercising does lower your healthcare costs — and by thousands of dollars. Investing in strength gains, weight loss and healthy physical goals can save you money, too. Curious as to how exercise lowers medical bills? Keep reading.

About the Study

A group of researchers studying at Baptist Health, South Floria discovered that exercise lowers healthcare costs. How did they do this? By analyzing data from a 2012 nationwide survey of 26,000 people aged 18 and up. Some participants suffered from a stroke, heart failure, heart rhythm problems and peripheral artery disease. Others did not. Survey-takers without any cardiovascular disease were closely examined for risk factors such as diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and smoking.

From there, the researchers kept track of which participants worked out for the recommended amount of 30 minutes — of moderate to vigorous exercise — five times per week. All medical expenses were also tallied for each survey-taker, including hospital visits, dental visits, home medical care help, vision tests and doctors appointments.

How Exercise Lowers Medical Bills

The study found that regularly exercising individuals in both the heart-disease free group and the heart-disease present group had lower health care costs than those who did not meet the exercise guidelines.

People with cardiovascular disease lowered their medical bills by an average $2500 a year if they followed a consistent exercising routine. Individuals without heart disease and a risk factor of one saved around $500 a year in healthcare costs, as well.

"There is no better pill than regular exercise if you want to age healthy, avoid severe chronic diseases and more importantly, to limit the financial [burden] of paying too much for your health care.”

How empowering is it to know that you can take lowering your healthcare costs into your own hands? By simply working out for 30 minutes, five times a week, your exercise routine will positively impact your medical bills.

The Positive Impact Exercise Has on Medical Bills, Explained

Think about it this way: if you're dedicated to strengthening your core muscles, increasing your flexibility, reaching a stable weight and ensuring you're healthy inside and out, you're less likely to have health-related complications. This means your odds of needing a trip to the emergency room or winding up in the hospital decrease, as do your chances of needing prescription drugs. These are all examples of how exercise lowers medical bills.

Whether you've been diagnosed with heart disease or not, exercising can and will reduce other health risks such as heart attack and death. It will alsoimprove your overall quality of life.

Ready to Lower Your Health Care Costs Through Exercise?

To start saving money on your medical bills by working out, contact Excellence in Fitness right away! We're here to help curate the perfect exercise plan to lower your medical bills. Our personal trainers are waiting to help you create the most positive impact on your healthcare costs — and your health overall — by developing a customized workout routine today.